Comics
// Movies & TVfeature

Next week on July 3, Sony's relaunched Spider-Man franchise with The Amazing Spider-Man debuts starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. Already, the film has received very positive reviews, and is expected to do well for the Spider-Man name.

As a fresh take on the hero, fans old and new can treat this as a jumping-on point without regard for the Tobey Maguire movies. Whether to re-familiarize yourself with the classic icon, or to discover his virtues, now is a great time to start reading some classic Spider-Man stories. He's one of Marvel's most iconic heroes with almost 50 years of continuity behind him, so there's plenty from which to choose. I've compiled a short list of those stories I think will will best prepare you for the movie — whether to improve your notice of fanservice, or to get you more excited!

Gaming
// Movies & TVblurb

The movie, currently rated at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, is an hour, thirty-six minute documentary film about independent game developers Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes (Super Meat Boy), Phil Fish (FEZ), and Jonathon Blow (Braid) and their efforts to make games. It's been highly praised by critics in and out of the games industry, and definitely worth your time. It costs $9.99.

Comics
// Movies & TVfeature

In case you didn't know, there was a little movie that debuted in the beginning of May called The Avengers. It earned a modest $207 million domestically on its opening weekend, and has now surpassed the $1 billion mark worldwide. Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed the development of a sequel shortly after reports of its initial success came in, to no one's surprise. But how will the sequel compare?

Joss Whedon is torn as to whether or not he wants to be involved. Most of the big names from the first are signed up for (many) more movies, both for their own characters and as a part of the Avengers. But, their primary involvement with the next story is not entirely confirmed. Who else might we see? Which other Avengers might join the crew to keep the interactions fresh for audiences? Below, I've provided an assessment of a few likely candidates and their odds of being written into what is sure to become the most highly anticipated sequel since The Dark Knight Rises.

Spoiler warning: this post will reference scenes and plot from The Avengers. You should see the movie before reading. Really, you should see the movie.

Movies & TVblurb

Adult Swim tweeted today that Toonami would be returning as a programming block starting Saturday May 26. No further details have been supplied yet, but the block's narrator Steve Blum has been campaigning for its return since the April Fools' Day experiment where it returned to the public eye.

Movies & TVreview

Lupin the Third, Fujiko Mine (Lupin III: Mine Fujiko to iu onna in Japan) is a new anime in the Lupin III series, the first televised, animated entry into the franchise in over 25 years. This is a show of firsts for the franchise - It's the first Lupin related media that doesn't star Lupin himself, and its the first to have a female director, Sayo Yamamoto. The show's twelve episodes focus on Fujiko's first meeting with Lupin and his cohorts, followed by a variety of misadventures tied together by a single overarching plot.

As mentioned, the show is focused around the titular character Fujiko Mine. She's is a thief of some renown, and along with her (future) accomplices Arsène Lupin III, Daisuke Jigen, and Goemon Ishikawa, she travels the world stealing priceless artifacts and avoiding arrest at the hands of Inspector Zenigata. The series is being simulcast on the Funimation website for US residents. EU bros will have to wait a bit for localized versions to come out in their respective countries.

Movies & TVfeature

Community, NBC's loved-by-nerds sitcom, has been renewed for a fourth season with a thirteen episode order. The show came back strong from its unexpected hiatus this January thanks to an outpouring of fan support. Although the threat of cancelation had loomed steadily above, fans can now rejoice at its renewal!

But what about Community drives the kind of fan support that can bring it back from an unscheduled hiatus to renewal? It often finds ratings hard to pull with its unique wit and style, despite the fact it's really quite good. It's a show that pushes the definition of everything a sitcom is. With its large, diverse cast, it excels at character development and refrains from cliche moments without first shining a light on those very cliches. It's the kind of show that can make you think while also making you laugh, and that's just delightful. Keep reading!

Gaming
// Movies & TVfeature

Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward has been teasing a potential AT game for a long while with images of notes framing his ideas for a game based on his popular cartoon. Gradually, the reality of that game has become more and more tangible, and now there's an official release window! This fall, Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage? will come out on DS and 3DS!

In March, Ward tweeted that he'd have a great deal of involvement with the development of this game. In fact, his message is rather clear about just how much involvement he'll have:

I'm going to be working so closely with WayForward Technologies... / I'm going to be working so so close to them... / ...and also with them... / You will be playing my mind on your DS...

There you have it. Playing in his mind. Even the light-hearted attitude he has towards development suggests promise for a game based on such a lovable franchise as this. Too often, games based on existing properties fail to deliver an experience that's both worth playing and worthy of its source material.

Its developer, WayForward Technologies, has a long history of making franchise-based games of moderate quality. But, fans of Adventure Time hoping for a quality game can look to their 2009 Wii title A Boy and his Blob, a critically acclaimed re-imagining of a classic NES platformer. With a game as unique as that under their belt and Pendleton Ward's guidance, this is a game at least worthy of our attention.

Movies & TVblurb

Disney recently purchased the movie rights for Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, and Deadline is reporting that Henry Selick, (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline) is set to direct the film. The best-selling children's book is about a boy who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard after his parents are murdered.

Movies & TVblurb

Pixar's next potential masterpiece CG film Brave is set to be released to American audiences on June 22 of this year. The movie follows the story of Scottish princess Merida as she comes to terms with her place in life. European audiences can expect to enjoy the film the following week.

Movies & TVblurb

The Legend of Korra is the sequel series to the '05-'08 hit American cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender. Although the official premiere date is April 14, fans were treated to a preview of the first two episodes following a successful advertising campaign on Facebook and Twitter building up support for the show. Those region-locked episodes have since been removed from the official website, but now they are available bundled together on iTunes until further notice. You can check it out by searching Korra on iTunes, or by following the source link.